kor korea on edge. a disputed island on the border is racked by south korean artillery fire despite dire warnings from the north. west coast washout. heavy rain threatens flash floods, dangerous mud slides and causes dozens of traffic accidents. and without a trace. a las vegas show girl vanishes into thin air. this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, december 20th, 2010. good morning, everybody. good to see you on this monday. i'm terrell brown for betty nguyen. we begin with breaking news out of britain, 12 men arrested on terrorism charges. a police spokesman says they were picked up in early morning

raids in london car death and stoke on trent. they're suspected of preparing to set off explosives in multiple locations. it is not clear yet where the alleged plot would be carried out. this morning korea is on edge, a 60-year border war threatens to boil over again. south korean artillery bombarded test targets for 90 minutes during a scheduled military drill on the same disputed island attacked by north korea last month. preeti arla is in washington with the latest. preeti, good morning to you. >> good morning, terrell. the drills ended just a short while ago with no sign of military action yet from north korea. south korea did launch fighter jets during the drills just in case. residents of south korea's yeonpyeong island took cover in bomb shelters this morning as planned military exercises got under way. seoul carried out the drills despite increasing threats of retaliation from the north. but, so far, there's been no response from pyongyang.

last month after similar exercises, north korea bombarded the island with artillery fire killing four people. pyongyang later warned seoul's military maneuvers were pushing the region to, quote, the brink of war. china, the north's only ally warned south korea against any unnecessary provocation but u.s. officials continue to back seoul's right to hold the drills. >> the republic of korea has every need and right to ready its self-defense. >> reporter: the united nations security council held an emergency session sunday to discuss the ongoing conflict but after eight hours behind closed doors members failed to reach a unified statement condemning north korea's actions. >> the situation continues to be very tense and dangerous. >> reporter: the escalating tensions on the heels of new mexico governor bill richardson's unofficial visit to north korea meeting with government and military leaders during his four-day trip and called for pyongyang to show maximum restraint. and south korea continues to

defend military drills saying they have done it on a monthly basis for years. terrell? >> preeti arla in washington for us this morning. preeti, thanks. it's going to be a wet christmas on the west coast. a powerful storm is raising fears of mud slides in and around los angeles. l.a. could get another two or three inches of rain today. on top of the two to four inches it got over the weekend. as ben tracy reports, this massive rainmaker is causing serious trouble. >> reporter: in sacramento, california, you would be better off with a boat than a car. >> i've never seen it like this, in years! >> reporter: in spokane, washington, icy streets caused a multi-car pile-up, and howling winds near seattle sent a tree crashing through a house. >> the roar of the wind was horrible. we were covering our ears. it was awful. >> reporter: when the gust snapped nine power poles, a burst transformer caused this house to go up in flames. firefighters could only watch it burn as the road was blocked. >> i just saw all the power

poles all the way down the road sandwiched to the road. >> reporter: the series of rain storms caused by a large plume of subtropical moisture stretching all the way from asia mixing with a low pressure system slamming it into the pacific coast. >> we have a long trail of moisture extending well into the central pacific. that's exactly what we are seeing right now. until we bet a change in the weather pattern, this moisture will keep coming in from the west and southwest. >> reporter: in water-logged los angeles, a two-story fig tree toppled over when the ground gave way and flash flood watches are now in effect for areas burned by recent wildfires. the massive station fire 16 months ago charred more than 160,000 acres leaving them prone to mud slides. sandbags and concrete barriers are now the last line of defense if the hillsides don't hold. >> i hope they hold up and do their job, because -- you know, protect our home. >> reporter: california is not expected to dry out for several more days, the most powerful of

the series of storms is set to arrive here tuesday night and could last through wednesday. ben tracy, cbs news, los angeles. new environmental study of 35 cities finds the tap water in 31 of them is contaminated by a chemical believed to cause cancer. norman, oklahoma has the highest level of hexavalent chromium an industrial chemical featured in the movie erin brockovich. the government is considering setting limits for that chemical in drinking water. officials say it could take months for the military's don't ask, don't tell policy to officially end. saturday the senate followed the house and voted to allow gays to openly serve in the military. president obama says he will sign the bill later this week. he still has to certify changing don't ask, don't tell will not affect military effectiveness. saturday's historic vote was only part of a busy weekend in the senate. democratic leaders are trying to finish a mountain of work before christmas. on top of the list of unfinished business, an arms treaty that may not have the republican support it needs to pass.

>> the senate will come to order. >> reporter: senators met for a rare sunday session. to debate a nuclear arms pact with russia. it's the fifth day the senate has considered the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. senator john kerry spearheading the initiative with the president's backing. >> the military supports this treaty. the leader of the strategic command, current and the past former seven support this treaty. the national intelligence community supports this treaty. >> reporter: but some republicans say congress is moving too fast. minority leader mitch mcconnell says he will vote against the treaty. >> all of a sudden we're once again trying to rush things right here before christmas eve. i think that was not the best way to get the support of people like me. >> reporter: it may be a lame duck session for congress, but plenty of business has moved forward. a tax cut deal, the repeal of don't ask, don't tell and voting down the dream act which would have allowed children brought to the u.s. illegally a path to legal status. monday the senate will take up a bill on health care for 9/11

first responders. >> this has been a long process. it's like running a marathon. we've had a lot of ups and a lot of downs. but now, the finish line is in sight. >> reporter: some republicans say democrats are rushing to the finish line. >> the bill hasn't been through committee. there are problems with it i think the first thing republicans will ask, do we have a chance to fix any problems that may exist with it in. >> reporter: there's still more that must be accomplished. before the end of the year, congress will also need to approve a spending measure to keep the government running through march. a report this morning says yemen's main nuclear storage facility was wide open to potential terrorists up to a week back in january. the latest disclosure from wikileaks and its founder, julian assange, from a huge pile of top-secret documents leaked to the whistle-blowing website. today's document from the state department said the one guard at the nuclear facility in yemen had been removed. the only surveillance camera had

been broken for six months. israeli police are looking for suspects in the killing of an american tourist. the victim, christine logan, worked for a group encouraging jews to take up christianity. her body was found in a forest outside jerusalem. a friend was also wound the in attack. she says they were approached by two arab men who stabbed them apparently with a bread knife. christmas travel is seriously disrupted again this morning in europe. several major airports are still snowbound. this morning passengers in frankfurt, germany's largest airport were waiting to get out of town. many of them won't make it. >> i'm coming from new york and i want to go to poland. my flight is delayed for two days already. and now i just found out that, you know, my -- my flight to poland was canceled. >> more snow in the forecast today. officials say hundreds of additional flights will be canceled. britain has seen the most snow for december for nearly 30 years. oil thieves blamed for the

oil pipeline blast in central mexico that killed 28 people sunday. the explosion happened about 15 miles east of mexico city. flaming crude oil gushed from the streets of san martine. more than 50 people were hurt by the blast and more than 30 homes destroyed. investigators say the explosion was apparently caused by thieves trying to steal the crude oil. still to come on the morning news, holiday cheer for retailers, as sales rebound. plus, search for a show girl. a las vegas dancer is missing for more than a week. this is the "cbs morning news." ♪ ♪ it's that chocolate ♪ it's that whipped cream ♪ it's that caramel, and espresso you mix in ♪ ♪ i must be, i must be, i must be, i must be ♪ ♪ i must be dreamin' [ male announcer ] for the first time at mcdonald's -- your two favorite flavors together. new mccafé caramel mocha. well? what do you guys think? perfect. [ male announcer ] the simple joy of sweet harmony. ♪

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it's liquid engineering. [ smack! ] [ smack! smack! smack! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum ta tum tum tums las vegas police a las vegas police are searching for a show girl missing for a week. she disappeared after leaving her home december 12th. the 31-year-old was a cast member of the fantasy show at the luxor las vegas hotel and casino. police questioned her most recent boyfriend, the last person to see her.

her sister made an emotional plea for her safe return. >> she's just a very loving person. she's -- just let her go and let her beand let her come home to us and the people that she loves. >> investigators found her car, a maroon 1997 four-door chevrolet prism with maryland license plates parked in a northeast las vegas parking lot there. on the "cbs moneywatch" stocks in asia edged down this morning. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. ashley, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, terrell. stocks began in asia with the korean peninsula -- i'm sorry with the military drills on the korean peninsula sent a chill across the asian markets. japan's nikkei lost nearly one%. while hong kong's hang seng was down just a fraction. wall street begins the holiday-shortened week trying to hang on to the week's gains. most analysts expect a quiet week with many traders either on vacation or already locked into profits. last week, the dow gained more than half a percent while the nasdaq edged up a fraction.

it's beginning to look a lot like a pre-recession christmas for retailers with sales up across the board. according mo mastercard americans spent almost 10% more on clothing, 2.5% more on luxury items and 3% more on furniture than last season. malls reported high traffic this past weekend especially super saturday, the last one before christmas. and the best news for retailers, more than a third of americans still have some holiday shopping to do. don't look for an early christmas gift at the pump. gasoline prices rose another eight cents the last two weeks to an average of 2.99 a gallon. the highest is around san francisco, with the lowest around denver. analysts expect prices to keep increasing in the new year. at the movies, a sci-fi sequel zapped the competition. it sped to the top of the weekend box office with nearly $44 million in ticket sales.

"yogi bear" opened in second place but with very disappointing ticket sales. the latest chronicles of narnia chapter, the voyage of the dawn trader slipped to third. and if you're going to the post office today, brace yourself. holiday demand is expected to make today the busiest of the year. the postal service estimates it will handle 800 million pieces of mail. as customers rush to get cards and packages out before the holiday. that's 40% more than the average daily volume. the post master general says, items dropped off by tuesday will make it in time for christmas. terrell, for once, i have all of my stuff sent and i don't have to go to the post office today. >> good for you. >> ahead of the game for once. >> i don't even know if i've really started yet officially. i'm the christmas eve kind of guy. >> terrell, you need to get in the game. >> i'll work on that. appreciate it. thank you so much, ashley morrison in new york. thanks, ash. we'll take a break. straight ahead your weather

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coast and snow showers in new england near the great lakes. later today southern plains will be mild and sunny and the west, california, nevada, will see heavy rains and snow. and snow showers are in store for western new york. in sports this morning, new england won its sixth straight game sunday night football to we go here. quarterback tom brady made another fourth quarter comeback against green bay. the pats helped by 313-pound guard dan connelly's 71-kick-off return, look at him go, believed the longest ever for an nfl offensive lineman. new england beat the packers 31-27. philadelphia's michael vick ran for a touchdown and passed for two more. stunning fourth quarter comeback against the giants. sean jackson capped the comeback with a 65-yard punt return on the final play of the game. the eagles victory gives them the lead in the east. matt ryan of atlanta connected on three touchdown passes for seattle. their win earned them a playoff

berth as wild card or winner of of nfc south. in overtime detroit's dave rain kicked field goal to edge tampa bay, 23-20. that ended the lions's losing streak on the road at 26 games. it was the longest in nfl history. when we come back on a another look this morning's top stories and bling is back. luxury spending makes a big comeback just in time for christmas. hey! wait up! ♪ [ female announcer ] you see a mud stain. but new wisk sees a particulate stain. with our breakthrough stain spectrum technology, wisk is engineered to fight all the major stain groups like particulates and oils. [ girl ] that lip gloss is soooo cute on you. [ female announcer ] you'll never look at stains the same way again. for a powerful clean against a full range of stains, use new wisk. fight stains with science.

so that's why we have sensodyne iso-active whitening for those that are looking for it. it comes in a canister. it starts out as a gel. now this is where the fun begins. once you start to brush with it, it micro-foams. having those small micro-bubbles really allows it to get to those hard to reach areas. it's providing a cleaner experience. the benefits for sensodyne iso-active whitening, it's going to provide protection against sensitivity. and it's going to help restore teeth to their natural whiteness. from flooding.. to power outages.. a roundup of the worst damage.. and what to expect from the next round. plus.. problems in the transbay tube hold up bart riders for the second day. how the delays will affect the morning commute. pg and e blasted in a new audit. the shortcuts it claims the agency has been taking with inspections. plus.. mail madness.. the deadline to make sure your christmas packages arrive on time. join us for cbs 5 early edition ... beginning at 4:30.

,,,, on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. the a snow storm brushing past new england and lake-effect snow showers will be a problem for western new york. california, a ton of rain in the valley and snow in the mountains and the northern plains will also see some snow today. here's another look at this

morning's top stories. south korea's army held 90 minutes of artillery drills this morning on the same island bombarded by north korean forces last month killing four people. so far, north korea has not responded to the latest military exercise. more heavy rain is expected today in los angeles raising fears of flooding and possible mud slides after a stormy weekend. fore kasz casters predict more wet weather through christmas. it's been a happy holiday for retailers so far. new figures show sales are up from last year. it appears big-ticket items are back. sales on jewelry and other ruks ree goods are rebounding to a point we haven't seen since before the recession. jay dow reports. >> the height would be something like this, perfect diamond. >> reporter: after a two-year lull in the economy, high-end luxury is back in business at harry winston in new york. >> a greater sense of optimism and confidence from our clients right now. sales for the third quarter were up 48% over last year. >> reporter: bling is not only making a comeback, it's leading

a surge in retail sales. >> basically the best season we've seen since 2007. you are starting to see again the higher-end purchases picking up. it is a good sign because you see better spending in some of the discretionary areas not just spending on necessities like food and gasoline now. >> reporter: at the malls, shoppers are spending again, though not always with full disclosure. >> i always foreel good. i never have a problem spending. yeah, i bought him cuff links and myself a bracelet. he didn't know that yet. >> reporter: for big spenders, there's always neiman marcus's exclusive christmas book which this year sold out all of its 100 limited edition chevrolet camaros in just three minutes. price tag, $75,000. at harry winston? >> absolutely, there has been a greater demand for treating them selves to these gifts. >> reporter: a dazzling bright spot in a retail spector analysts say is often the last to rebound during an economic recovery. jay dow cbs news new york. this morning on "the early

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to sugaand, to sugarland, texas we go here. this is an implosion at the historic imperial sugar refinery. didn't quite go off as planned. only one of the two towers initially fell sunday. the second one on the left wouldn't budge, even after a second charge but an hour later without explanation, as you just saw there, the tower came down on its own. luckily, everyone got out before that happened. there may be some fireworks on tuesday. the university of connecticut's women's basketball team attempts to break the record for consecutive wins in the sport. sunday the huskies tied the record. seth doane reports. >> reporter: they are poised to shatter a sports record and chisel a crack in the glass ceiling.

>> 88's always been that magical number people just assume that's never going to be touched. >> reporter: university of connecticut's lady huskies scored their 88th consecutive win tying legendary coach john wooden's 1974 ucla men's team record. one more victory and the lady huskies will have the most back-to-back wins of any division 1 team in ncaa history. the team hasn't lost a game since the national semifinals in 2008. that means the freshmen, sophomores and juniors have never tasted defeat in a college game. >> the reason everybody's having a heart attack the last four or five days, a bunch of women are threatening to break a men's record. >> reporter: the coach has taken the team to seven national championships. >> women's basketball players want to play for me because they see me as this gentle person who can guide them to where they want to go, you know? and all that crap! >> reporter: but it's not just

winning on the court. the lady huskies have a 92% graduation rate. compare that to 31% in the men's program. the team's star player carries a 3.7 gpa. >> you know, there's more to the game than athleticism. >> reporter: females must play four years in college to be eligible for the wnba draft. meanwhile the nba can poach male players at any time. >> they have a very difficult job. job on the men's side, very difficult. i get to keep my team for three or four years and get a chance to build a team. >> reporter: one many sports fans could not watch on television. that's because women's sports still do not receive the same attention that men's sports do. seth doane, cbs news, new york. >> go get 'em ladies. coming up a little bit later on on "the early show," the latest from capitol hill on the s.t.a.r.t. treaty debate and interview with a new york senator who sits on the foreign relations committee. also whether the beach or

slopes find out some amazing last-minute winter travel deals. we'll hear from last night's million dollar winner of "survivor nicaragua" jud "fabio" birza all that and more coming up a little bit later on on "the early show." for now, though, that's the "cbs morning news" for this monday. i'm terrell brown. take care, everybody. i'm terrell brown. take care, everybody. have a great day! -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com